Young Carers

A young carer is a child or young person whose life is affected by looking after someone with a disability or a long term illness, often taking on practical and/or emotional caring responsibilities that would normally be expected of an adult.

A young carer is someone under 18 who regularly helps to look after someone who has

a long-term illness

a learning disability

a physical disability

mental health difficulties

problems from misusing drugs or alcohol

The person they care for could be their

mum or dad

brother or sister

grandparent or other relative

The support a young carer provides could include

housework, cooking and shopping

looking after younger brothers and sisters

helping someone to get washed and dressed

making sure the person they care for is safe

talking to other agencies (e.g. the doctor) about the person they care for

giving medication

giving emotional support

It's not always easy being a young carer. Some of the problems young carers might face are:

difficulties with school and doing homework

not enough time to see friends

worrying about the person they care for

feeling different from others

other people not understanding what it's like being a young carer.

Young Adult Carers

Young adult carers are carers between 16 and 25 years old. They may be juggling their caring responsibilities with

Social Services

Social Services may be able to help young carers, either by helping you get the support you need, or by providing support for the person you look after.

If you get in touch with Social Services, a social worker may have a chat with you about what difficulties you have because of your caring role and what sort of help you would like. Social workers know that it's important for families to stay together and help each other and this is what we'll try to help you with, so that you can carry on being a young carer, if you want to, but also have time for yourself, too. Sometimes social workers may not give you the help you need directly but will put you in touch with other people or organisations who can help.

You don't have to contact Social Services yourself. There are other people who can do this for you. It could be someone from the Young Carers Service, someone from your school or anyone else you trust.

To ask for Social Services support for yourself as a young carerChild and Family Information, Advice and Assistance ServiceTel: 01792 635700Email: access.information@swansea.gov.uk

To ask about help or support for an adult you are caring forCommon Access Point for Health and Social CareTel: 01792 636519Text: 07796 275412Email: CAP@swansea.gov.uk

Links to help those supporting young carers

The Young Carers ToolkitOpens new window has been developed by the Welsh Government to assist professionals across Health, Education and Social Services who are working with young carers and young adult carers.